1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a medical apparatus and, more particularly, to a medical apparatus that can perform observation based on fluorescence from a florescent drug.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a cancer diagnosis technology employing a molecular target drug has started to attract attention. Specifically, for example, in recent years, a method of, after administering a fluorescent drug (a fluorescent probe) that targets biological protein specifically developing in a cancer cell to a living body, discriminating presence or absence of cancer based on fluorescence in a target region of the living body has been studied. Such a method is useful in early detection of cancer in the digestive tract field.
As an applied method of the method explained above, a method of, after administering plural kinds of fluorescent drugs having different fluorescence wavelengths to a living body, complexly observing, based on plural kinds of fluorescence in a target region of the living body, development states of plural kinds of biological protein corresponding to the plural kinds of fluorescent drugs has been proposed. Such a method is considered to be useful in, for example, estimation of a stage of cancer, prediction of an invasion risk of cancer, and prediction of a spread risk of cancer.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-61683 discloses an endoscope apparatus including a laser beam source that generates excitation light, an endoscope scope including a radiating section of the excitation light at a distal end portion thereof, an intensifier equipped CCD that detects fluorescence generated in an object to be examined by the excitation light, fluorescent image generating means for generating a fluorescent image signal based on a fluorescent signal from the intensifier equipped CCD, distance measuring means for generating a distance signal equivalent to a distance between the radiating section and the object to be examined, and fluorescence intensity calculating means for correcting the fluorescent signal with the distance signal and calculating a fluorescence intensity not affected by fluctuation in the distance. In the configuration of the endoscope apparatus, the fluorescence intensity calculating means includes time-after-drug-administration correcting means for correcting the fluorescent signal or the fluorescent image signal based on elapsed time after the administration of the fluorescent drug.
With the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-61683, even before influence of the administered fluorescent drug spreads all over the object to be examined, a fluorescent image can be corrected to a state after the influence of the fluorescent drug spreads all over the object to be examined.